Changing My World
by haveyouseenmyhaggis
Summary: When Jack finds an object attached to a message adressed to him, he doesn't think that this will be the box that changes his life forever. Can he accept who River Song is and will he come to realise what he must do to help her?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Changing My World **

**Summary: When Jack finds an object attached to a message adressed to him, he doesn't think that this will be the box that changes his life forever. Can he accept who River Song is and will he come to realise what he must do to help her? **

**Author's Note: This here is my theory of who River Song is. Enjoy. This is my new big project for the next few weeks or so. Thanks for your time! Spoilers for series four Doctor Who and series two Torchwood.**

**Disclaimer: Neither _Torchwood _nor _Doctor Who _belong to me. **

* * *

Jack frowned in confusion. He wasn't quite sure how to tackle this artefact. He looked at the device on the desk from the doorway for a moment before approached it. It was complicated black box about the size of a small portable television. It had several dials and buttons on one side. There was an intricate pattern of some alien language unknown to everyone in Torchwood. Tosh had been poring over a copy of the symbols all day and was getting nowhere with it. The Captain looked at the box for a further few minutes and then picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

He wasn't sure what he should do with it. He wanted to find out what it did but the risk of something going wrong was beyond belief. Until they could translate the message they wouldn't know what to expect. The rest of the team had gone home so he would have to wait for them to come in tomorrow. His curiosity was burning though. They'd found the artefact abandoned in a bin outside an abandoned flat. It was all very confusing. Jack shut his eyes and rubbed his temples as he remembered the morning's events.

"Hey, Jack!" Owen called from somewhere behind him. The Captain looked around curiously to see the young medic crouching by a tipped dustbin on the street. They were just walking down a street of desolate flats looking for a stray weevil. Owen looked genuinely puzzled by whatever he'd found.

_Jack jogged over to his younger employee and knelt down beside him, "What?" he asked. Owen pointed wordlessly into the bin and Jack peered into it, wrinkling his nose slightly against the stagnant smell of the bin.__There was a small black box lying inconspicuously among rotten food and yellowing old newspapers. He reached out and picked it up curiously. Who knew how Owen had spotted it – it wasn't exactly obvious. _

_Gwen, Ianto and Tosh had all trotted over to join the pair at the bin wearing expressions of various degrees of impatience._

"_C'mon Jack! We've got a weevil on the loose!" Gwen insisted. Ianto nodded his agreement while the Captain turned over the device in his hands a few times. He made note of the strange marking on its outer casing – he'd get Tosh to research them later. _

"_There's note…" Owen said pointing to a scrap of paper that was loosely attached haphazardly with sticky tape. Everyone watched while Jack squinted to read the message. As he did, his face paled slightly. It read: Look after her, Jack, you need to look after her._

Jack blinked out of his reverie in an instant. His stomach squirmed slightly as he thought of the note that was now under investigation – this time with Owen. He was trying to match up any possible DNA traces on the paper. It was doomed task but Jack thought it worth a shot.

Why had the device been abandoned? Was whoever the previous owner was scared of it? Did they know what it did? Would he ever have the chance to ask them what it did and what he was meant to do with it – assuming the note was aimed for him to find. Who was this "her" he was meant to look after? What relevance did she have to this box?

Still, he could always try find out what the box did by himself. Surely it wouldn't do too much harm. He mentally shook himself. He'd spent so long dissuading his team against tampering with devices without knowing what they were doing and he couldn't break his own rules. Could he?

Jack set the device back down on the desk in his office again. He bit his lip in thought as he looked at it. There was a marking on the top of it shaped roughly like a handprint. It wasn't really anything he made a conscious decision to do; he just reached out and placed his hand on the marking out of impulse. Then he regretted it immediately.

It was as though his hand was glued to the spot by some invisible force. The device whirred angrily for a moment and then fell silent. Jack pulled his hand away tentatively when he found he was no longer connected to the device. What the hell had he done? He waited to see what would happen. Nothing did for several long moments.

Then, out of the blue, a blinding white light filled the little room and Jack shielded his eyes against the glare. He tried to ignore the niggling worry in his head as he waited anxiously for the light to fade. When it did and he opened his eyes, he knew his word had been changed forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack lowered his hand from his face as the white light faded away gradually. His eyes widened as he took in the scene in the office. The little black box was sitting innocently on his desk just as he'd last seen it. It was as though nothing had happened. The only thing that had changed was the fact there was now someone else in the room.

The Captain walked slowly towards the wall where a young woman was lying unconscious on the ground. She was slumped against the wall with her sandy blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. She was wearing casual jeans and a t-shirt and her face was pale. Her eyes were closed and Jack watched her for a moment. His mind was reeling with shock as he knelt down beside her. Was this the person he was meant to look after? But who the hell was she?

He pressed two fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse. When he found one and he knew she was still alive he sat back on his heels and tried to make sense of what had just happened. So, he'd touched the handprint on the box and then a woman had materialised out of white light. Normally he would have no objections to women materialising in his office but there was something not quite right about this.

He cast his gaze back over his shoulder and saw the box still sitting there as though nothing had happened. Dammit, what should he do now? Was there a way to sent her back into the box? That was ridiculous. He couldn't just send her back into a box. He looked at her in confusion for a long while before she even started to show signs of waking up.

"Mmm…" she mumbled sleepily as she rubbed her eyes slightly. Then she moaned and clutched at her head as though she was in pain. She winced and turned her face to the wall as though hiding from something, "So many memories… No… No…" she whispered.

"You alright?" Jack asked quietly. She spun around to face him in surprise. Her eyes widened as she seemed to be trying to recognise his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine Jack, thanks," she said nodding carefully.

"How'd you know my name?" Jack demanded at once. He was pretty sure he didn't know who she was.

She looked puzzled, "What?"

"You know my name already. How? Who are you?" Jack insisted.

"Dunno how I knew that. I just did." she said. She didn't look all that bothered by his bemusement, "I'm River Song…"

"Right. That explains it all," Jack snapped sarcastically.

"Look, just because you've had a bad day and Owen's been in a mood, doesn't mean you have to take it all out on me!" she retorted hotly.

"How the _hell _do you know about Owen? Or my day for that matter?" Jack wanted to know. This was confusing, even by Torchwood's standards.

"I don't know. I just… do," she said looking slightly lost.

"What did you mean about the memories? You said "so many memories"? What did you mean?" Jack asked. He was just trying to piece together this puzzle but he was aware that he was being irritable and not exactly welcoming to this stranger. Wasn't he meant to look after her or something?

"I meant… I meant I can see everything. I've got so much in my head and there's hardly space to keep it all. I can see what it's like at the end of the universe – how can you _stand _it?" River wanted to know. Jack frowned again.

"Can you…?" he tailed off without finishing his question.

"I can see all your memories, Jack. All your memories are mine too…" she said as though she'd just realise of this complex detail.

"No way," Jack said in disbelief, "That's not true."

"But it is!" she insisted and seemed to really mean it. The Captain shook his head again. How could it be true? She had just randomly materialised in to thin air and now she was claiming she had all his memories. I just didn't make sense. It wasn't logical.

"Right, who exactly are you?" he asked eventually after coming up with no other response.

"River Song, I told you," she said.

"No really who are you," Jack said digging deeper. There had to be something more.

"Beyond that I just don't know," she said. Then she wept and Jack didn't know what to do or say. He didn't know who she was, _she _didn't know who she was and there wasn't very much he could do with her.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack looked at River for a while before picking up his phone and dialling Owen's mobile number. Yes, it was late at night but Owen was needed in the Hub and it wasn't as though he would be in bed – at least not in the sense that required one to lie down, shut their eyes and drift off into unconsciousness. Did it really matter if the young doctor wasn't happy about coming into work at half eleven at night? No it didn't, Jack decided.

"Hello?" Owen said irritably as he picked up the phone.

"Owen," Jack said with a small smile as he waited for the younger man's reaction.

"Oh, what now?" Owen moaned.

"You busy?"

"Yes, come to think of it," Owen said moodily, "I think the cat needs a bath."

"Owen, you don't have a cat," Jack said, raising his eyebrows slightly. The other man was silent for a moment.

"Oh," he said eventually.

"Get over here now," Jack commanded and Owen sighed.

"Why?"

"Urgent. Now," Jack said simply and bluntly.

"Alright," Owen said, "But you owe me one."

It wasn't long before Owen turned up at the Hub. The young doctor didn't look best pleased to be at work at that time but he didn't complain. He noted Jack's troubled expression and then looked at River Song, whom was sitting on the Hub sofa looking bemused and intrigued by everything in the Hub.

"Who's she?" Owen asked his Captain quietly.

"River Song. Other than that we don't know. She claims she has all my memories too," Jack said uncomfortably. He wasn't happy with someone knowing ever aspect of his life and he wanted to know who the hell this random person was. He didn't take kindly to people appearing in his Hub and then claiming to know everything about him.

Owen knelt down beside River and smiled warmly at her, "Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said awkwardly.

"I'm Doctor Owen Harper. I work for Jack," Owen explained, "I want you to tell me everything you remember before you appeared here."

"I don't remember anything," she said bluntly. The doctor frowned at her and she didn't break eye contact with him.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing," she confirmed.

"Well, d'you mind if I do a few blood tests and things to see if we have a record of you in the computers?" Owen asked.

"I guess not. You're Torchwood and you'll probably do it anyway," she said with a sad smile as she followed Owen through to the Medical Bay.

Jack sat in his office waiting for Owen to complete his tests. He fiddled with a pen on the desk and tried to sort out his thoughts. He was sure he'd seen River Song before; there was something very familiar about her put he couldn't quite place her.

Then there was a gentle knock on the door and Owen came alone. "Jack," he said looking serious.

"What did you find?" the Captain wanted to know at once.

"Jack, d'you have a sister?" Owen asked slowly. Jack's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"No, just a brother," he said. It was painful remembering his younger brother when he'd been the reason he died all those years ago. Owen frowned as he looked down at a sheet of paper in his hand.

"Well, the thing is, River Song, she's pretty much a genetic double. There are a few differences in DNA but when I searched the systems for the nearest match the only person that came up was you," Owen explained.

Jack shook his head, "That's ridiculous Owen. It's just not possible."

"I think you've got yourself a female counterpart," Owen said with a barely suppressed smirk, "Hell and I thought it was bad enough with one of you."

"She's nothing like me. We aren't connected in any way," Jack insisted bluntly. Owen gave an apologetic grimace.

"I'm sorry Jack, I think you are."

"But we can't be," Jack said. He was having trouble believing this. Suddenly he knew where he'd seen her face before. There was so much of his brother in her. Even from the way she pronounced her words to the way her mouth moved when she spoke. There was something that screamed of his family in her eyes.

After all the distance he'd put between himself and his past, here was this woman who Owen claimed was his genetic counterpart – a sister effectively.


	4. Chapter 4

It was cold and Jack was sitting quietly by the Bay with his feet dangling above the water. The bitter bite in the air made him shiver. Rubbing his hands together to try and keep warm, he looked around at the other people going about. There was a man with a cigar walking his dog and shouting at the poor animal. A woman wandered along hand in hand with a young child. They seemed to be just enjoying the view. Jack watched with a small smile. They looked quiet content to just let time pass around them.

He sighed and found himself wishing his life were as simple as theirs. Why did River Song have to come and turn his world upside down so totally and completely?

"You alright, son?" a gruff voice asked from behind him. Jack look up in surprise. He hadn't seen the man arrive.

"Oh. Yeah, "Jack said with an unconvincing cheerfulness in his voice. The man raised his eyebrows and Jack gave a big fake smile, "Just away in a world of my own. You know how it is. Everyone has their own galaxy far, far away."

The man nodded, "Well, welcome back to the real world," he laughed, "Just thought you looked a bit miserable."

With that, he walked away and Jack watched him go. He sort of wished the man hadn't bothered coming to speak to him; he just wanted to be left alone.

* * *

"So, handsome," River said to Owen as he hurried around filling in forms and reading results. The doctor turned to look at her in a mixture of surprise and amusement.

"What?" he asked.

"What happens to me now?" she asked him. There was a small trace of anxiety in her eyes and Owen didn't fail to notice that.

"I… I honestly don't know. I guess you'll have to wait until Jack gets back," he shrugged. River sighed and looked at the ground.

"Urgh. I hate waiting games," she said moodily.

"So, where d'you come from?" Owen asked randomly trying to trick an answer out of her. Maybe she was just hiding things from them.

"I honestly couldn't tell you," she said sadly, "My only memories are those that seem to belong to Jack…"

"Oh," Owen said uselessly. He'd been hoping for something more substantial than that. He still couldn't quite believe she was Jack's genetic double. That was just weird – even by Torchwood standards.

* * *

Jack didn't want to have a sister. He really didn't. After everything that had happened with Gray, his younger brother, he couldn't go through anything like that again. He'd just have to distance himself from River. He could find a way to start a life for her and then let her live away from Torchwood.

Or he could retcon her. That was she wouldn't remember anything to do with him or Torchwood. He could wipe all her memories and that would be the end of it. He could even wipe his own memory – and the team so that nobody would remember her. She and him would be completely unconnected as far as anyone on there was concerned.

That might work. He could try that. He didn't really like the idea of taking retcon though. He wasn't a big fan of having his memories wiped. He signed and rubbed his temples in confusion.

Gray had died because of him. All he'd done was let go of his hand and that was the end of it. Getting River mixed up in Torchwood would mean she was at risk of dying and it would be his fault. On the other hand, what if he was meant to keep hold of her hand like he'd not done for his brother? All those what ifs and he couldn't find an answer to fit any of them.

River Song shouldn't exist. That's all he knew. But neither should he. He should be dead. This was frustrating. He couldn't get his head around the fact that River was his female double. It just wasn't right. It couldn't be. It was true though, and there was nothing he could do about it.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Jack returned to the Hub, Ianto, Gwen and Tosh had come in to work. Owen had obviously told them what had happened because they all followed his entrance curiously as though waiting for him to tell them more.

"Morning," he said simply before walking down to the sofa where River Song still sat. She looked at him and grinned as he sat down beside her.

"Good walk?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Jack said stiffly. He was finding it hard to even look at her. He wanted to treat her like she was someone else but he was struggling. She reminded him _so _much of Gray.

"So, what you going to do with me?" she asked curiously.

"There's not much I can do with you," Jack said moodily. He knew the retcon plan was going to have to be thought over and careful planning was essential. She couldn't know what his plan was or she'd be sure to try and stop him. Hell, one of the team would probably try to stop him.

"I can always help around here?" River suggested as she looked around the Hub with a look of curiosity and interest.

"Yeah, I guess you could," Jack said grudgingly.

"She can help me out," Owen said without looking up from the sheet he was reading, "I've got a shed load of paper work that needs done."

"I don't think so Owen," Jack laughed slightly, "You can do that yourself."

"Oh, fuck it," Owen grumbled while Gwen sniggered. Just because _she'd _caught up on all her paperwork when they'd had a free week from Weevil hunts. Owen on the other hand had been more interested in a game he'd found on the Internet.

"She can help sort out the archives," Jack said finally.

Ten minutes later, Ianto was explaining to River what he wanted her to do, "And then you put the Torchwood seal on it the bag and lock it up."

"Okay," River nodded as she made to pick up an odd looking knife from a box on the floor. Ianto went off to another box to sort that out.

"What's your name then, cutie?" River asked after a while. Ianto blushed slightly as he looked at her.

"Ianto Jones," he said with a small smile.

"Single?" she asked. Ianto raised an eyebrow. Was she suggesting they should be together? She was just as forward as Jack was. Hell and they had enough trouble coping with _him. _

"It's complicated," Ianto replied slowly, still thinking of Jack.

"I see," she said with a small look of disappointment, "You and Jack…?"

"Yeah," Ianto said.

"I knew that. I can see that. I can see everything he and you have done-."

"Shit," Ianto muttered under his breath with a wince. He'd always seriously hoped that nobody saw what he and Jack got up to. River smiled slightly.

"Hold on to him Ianto, he's a good guy," she said sadly with a vague reflective look in her eyes, "I can see enough of his past to know that."

Jack spun around in his chair slightly as he thought. Surely it wouldn't be too hard to give River the retcon pill. He could give it to her in a drink or anything! He knew he was just trying to think of other reasons to worry about it. The real problem was his nagging conscience. Was it _really _the right thing to do?


	6. Chapter 6

River lay on the stiff hospital bed feeling dejected. She couldn't believe that she'd been abandoned by the people she thought she could trust. Had they just been waiting for a chance to get rid of her? She'd been hoping for the last few hours that someone would turn up to see her but nobody did.

"You alright there dear?" the nurse asked. Her over-friendly manner was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Fine," she sighed miserably.

"Well, there's a doctor here to see you," the nurse said smiling cheerfully, "Nothing to worry about."

"Whatever," she said sadly looking out of the window at the trees blowing gently in the wind. There were other people in the ward but she never spoke to them. She wasn't really in the mood for speaking to other people.

Then the door at the bottom of the ward swung open and a tall man strode in. He was wearing a pinstriped suit and converse trainers. Was he the doctor? He certainly didn't look like one. His hair was ruffled slightly and he grinned widely at her when he saw her.

"Hello River, I'm the Doctor," he said holding out his hand for her to shake.

"Doctor who?" she wanted to know.

"Just the Doctor," he replied casually before turning to the nurse, "You can go now. Thank you." River stared at him. Ws this by any chance the same Doctor that featured so much in Jack's memories? Was this the same man that Jack really cared about and wanted to find?

"No problem," she simpered. It was clear she had a bit of a crush on this man. She walked out of the room slower than she needed to and River rolled her eyes impatiently.

"So, you know about Torchwood?" the Doctor said as soon as the door was shut behind the nurse. River stared at him in surprise.

"I thought Torchwood is a secret!" she said.

"It is. I'm just one of the few who know," he said with a small smile, "And so are you, aren't you?"

"Yes," she admitted, "Why?"

"I'm just here to ask you what you were going to do next?" he asked, watching her with his big brown eyes.

"What d'you mean?" she asked suspiciously.

"I think you know they're not coming back," the Doctor said sadly putting a hand on her arm.

She looked at him with a pained look in her eyes, "Why d'you say that?"

"If you knew Jack's past you would-."

"I do," she interrupted. "I know everything about his life."

"You do?" the Doctor said, a little taken aback.

"When I came to life, I found I had all of Jack's memories. Nothing of my own until the day I woke up," she said with tears forming in her eyes, "I know everything about his life and he hates me for it."

"No, he doesn't hate you. He just doesn't like people knowing to much. It scares him a bit to know that you - somebody who just appeared because he touched an alien machine - knows more about him that anybody he's known for a long time. He tries to keep his distance from people. He doesn't want to hurt them," the Doctor explained with a far-away look in his eyes. River could see he was remembering some old memories of Captain Jack. She smiled slightly.

"You know him then?"

"Oh yes," he replied with a small laugh, "He's not someone you can forget easily."

"No, he's not," River agreed, "And he's not coming back, is he?"

"No," the Doctor said apologetically, "He's too scared to lose you the way he lost his little brother. You have to understand that."

"Of course I understand but it doesn't make this any easier!" River retorted hotly. The Doctor winced slightly and took her hand.

"I know," he said, "And I'm so sorry." Then there was silence for a moment. Neither of them really knew what to say. River looked at the blank wall opposite and sighed. Jack had had one hell of a past and she couldn't blame him for being afraid to have her near. It was bound to be difficult for him. Maybe if he'd just said that to her rather than dumping her as soon as he got the chance.

"Why don't you come with me?" the Doctor said. River only had to look into Jack's memory to see that this would be a decision of a life time. She would see so much. She would be able to see the stars and have a life separate from her brother. He need never suffer because of her again.

"Yes. I think I will," she said with a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: This is the final chapter of this story. I've gone where I wanted with this and made my point so now it's time to draw this story to a close. Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed and made my day a lot better.

* * *

**

Epilouge

River walked slowly along the street with the Doctor beside her. They were holding hands and niether of them spoke about what she was about to do. It was something she just had to do for her own piece of mind more than anything. The Doctor had argued with her for a while but in the end she'd won. He'd agreed that it probably wouldn't change a thing. Jack wouldn't understand the letter if it was left on the box. It wouldn't change the way he regarded her in the slightest. He was too wrapped up in his own memories to see her for her and not a person that could end up the same as his little brother.

The pair came to a halt near an old abandoned flat. There was a bin lying on its side there and River knelt down beside it. Peering inside it, she saw what she was looking for. The little black box was just abandoned there with an innocent and unassuming air about it. Funny really that it would be the thing to catch the eye of one of Jack's little team. She certainly wouldn't have seen it if she didn't know it was there thanks to Jack's memories of the day she was born.

"You sure you want to do this?" the Doctor asked curiously. He watched her as she pulled a note out of her pocket and stuck it to the box.

"Yes, I'm sure," she nodded. She stood up slowly and looked at the box for a moment, "So that's where I came from?"

"I guess, we'll never really know the truth. The species that created that box used it for making their population grow after a war wiped out their people. Of course, it was a bit unnatural and in a few weeks people had way to many siblings and they all knew their "creator's" memories. Right from the beginning of their existance. So, you're Jack's sister and that's all anybody ever knows," the Doctor said as he took her hand in his.

"Thank you for taking me here," she said with a small, sad smile.

"No problem," he said.

"It was just something I needed to do," River said as they turned and walked slowly away from the area. This was the beginning of a new life for her. Sure, she'd travelled with the Doctor for a few weeks now but now the adventure was really beginning. She could move on from her experience at Torchwood and start living for herself.

Not long behind them, the black Torchwood SUV skidded to a halt. A small team of people led by Captain Jack Harkness walked purposefully down the street without knowing what was coming next. Jack didn't know his life was about to be turned upside down. He wouldn't know that until much later. He'd never known his life was going to take such a drastic turn into the unknown and change his world so totally and completly. But, then again, working for Torchwood, you really should expect the unexpected.


End file.
